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The Better World
'Prologue: It's about your brother...' I should have seen it coming. Those four painful words were all I needed to know what had happened. Then why was I still shocked to see Tony lying there, eyes closed, as if he were sleeping? Maybe the foot long gash on his face, The bruised cheek, and the dislocated jaw. Or maybe it was the fact that I knew i'd never have another friend in my life. Boy, was I wrong. The guys said he was an investment. He was more than that. He was my friend, i wanted to punch those guys. They offered to let me take over in his job in the Avatar program. And you can probably guess what i said. It was hard not to say yes when thats your only way off of the floating gray rock that was earth. Probably still is. 'Chapter 1: Pandora' It's wierd. Five years in cryo, suddenly, there's no stopping at all. "Daniel Linke?" Asked a girl after the security briefing. "That's me." I said. "I'm Sarah Johnson. Part of the Avatar Program. Come with me." I followed her into a round room with these wierd metal beds that had lids. "That's Grace Augustine." She said, pointing to a stern-looking woman wearing a lab-coat. "She's the head of the program. Watch out for her, she likes plants more than people." We approached the woman. "Dr. Augustine, this is Daniel Linke." "Yeah, I know." The woman said. She lit a cigarrette and stared at a holographic display of a brain. "You're not supposed to be in this program. Tony is. But, since he isn't available, your our only option." "Thanks." I said. "No problem. Listen, if you start shooting at everything you see out there like the rest of those jarhead marines they keep hiring in my program, I will use a stick to beat your brains out. Am I getting through to you?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good. Your Avatar is ready, why don't you go test it out?" As I crossed the room to one of the metal beds, I saw three other guys start talking to Grace. One had glasses and black hair, another had short hair and a beard, and a third was in a wheelchair, and looked terribly familiar. "Corporal Sully?" I mouthed. There was no doubt about it. "Uh, hello?" Sarah asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Here's your link bed. Just lay down in it, relax, and let your mind go blank." I did so, and Sarah closed the top over me. Suddenly, I felt as if i was zooming down a long tunnel. Then, I opened my eyes, in a different place. I looked around. Two doctors started making me do tests to see if anything had gone wrong with the Avatar. I realized I was taller than them, even when i was sitting on the bed. When they told me to stand, I was roughly ten feet tall. "Alright Linke, lay back down, and we'll send you back." When I opened my eyes again, i was back in the metal bed. "Room 602." I repeated to myself. 598, 599, 600, 601, and finally, 602. I entered the room to find two bunk beds. Three other guys were inside. One was african american, with a buzz cut and beard. The second guy was bald, white, and was real skinny. The last had dark brown hair, strangely shaggy. He had a little stubble on his chin, and he looked the most friendly. He approached me. "New Guy?" He asked. "Yeah, I'm Danny Linke." "Jereme Waite. The other guys don't really talk to new guys, but the white guy is Lyle Wainfleet, the black guy is Sean Fike. Wainfleet is an AMP pilot, Fike is just another grunt." "What about you?" I asked. "Jereme Waite, Avatar Driver, at your service." "You too?" Chapter 2: The Mission The Samson skimmed along the water, carrying the two other Avatars. Jereme was coming, as was Sarah's avatar. I held a SOLARIS 4 rifle, the same with Jereme, but Sarah carried a pistol. "I could make this gun so much better." I said, looking at the SOLARIS. "Weapons designer beforehand?" Jereme asked. "Nah, I was a marine." I said. "I've just had some practice with this sort of thing. What were you before Pandora?" "Demolitions expert. My squad-mates called me Bam, because of my nasty habit of blowing up alot of things." "I bet Dr. Augustine wasn't too thrilled to have you in the program either." "Nah, she wasnt. But my cousin, Max, is a scientist in the program, and he hooked me up." "What about you, Sarah?" I asked. She turned to us. "Codebreaker." "Ah, i see." I said. Jereme leaned closer to me and whispered, "Don't try to flirt with Sarah, I've tried, doesn't work." "Noted." I said, then after i thought about it, i quickly added, "But, wait, I wasn't-" "Were Landing, guys." The pilot interrupted. The Samson touched down in a small clearing. I got out and looked around. "Not a bad place for a picnic." I said. "Or a burial." Sarah said. "What?" "Alright, let's go." Sarah led us into the jungle.